Moss
(Life cannot exist without consuming.)
(Even the moss drinks water.)Narration, Chapter 1
Moss (JP: コケ) is a recurring running gag in Deltarune that is often hidden in each Chapter. Both Kris and Susie enjoy moss, and depending on the Chapter, it mosses out Kris's HP and changes their title. Choosing to consume the patch of moss also transfers via Completion FILE. In PS4/PS5 versions, consuming any moss also earns achievements.
In the later end of Chapter 1, Kris and Ralsei are trapped in a jail cell in Card Castle, which has a patch of moss. This is the only chance to consume it.
Kris can choose to "perpetuate the cycle of existence" by consuming the moss, which mosses out their HP and fully restores it.[1] When spoken to, Ralsei also notices that Kris has some moss around their mouth.[2]
If Kris returns to the prison cell after Susie frees them, Susie becomes jealous that there is moss in their cell. If the moss was consumed, Susie is disappointed that none of it was saved for her.[3]
If Kris ate the moss in Chapter 1, Ralsei places decorative moss in Kris's room in his castle. Inspecting it causes the narration to describe it as looking "delicious", and Susie makes a jealous remark.[4] In Susie's room, checking her fridge causes her to notice that moss is in it.[5]
In Cyber City, Kris can find the "[Moss]" in the dog dumpster room, which can be entered from the third traffic puzzle. On inspection, a short fanfare plays and the moss is instantly consumed. It changes Kris's title, and either Noelle or Susie's title if they are in the party.[6] If the moss is inspected a second time, the narration notes that there is not enough to eat.
- If Noelle is in the party, her title changes to Moss Neutral. She questions why Kris is pleased by it,[7] and thinks that marimos are somewhat "cute".[8]
- If Kris uses a shortcut door to backtrack with Susie and Ralsei instead, Susie's title changes to Moss Enjoyer.[9] She becomes enthusiastic about the moss, and notices it is uneaten.[10] Girl Next Door plays as Susie assumes Kris saved it to share, and she praises them. The two of them then eat it together to Ralsei's confusion. This choice causes the Moss Most title to be obtainable in Chapter 4.[11]
During Noelle and Susie's Ferris wheel ride in Queen's Mansion, Susie questions what Kris would do in this situation. One of the selectable options is "Eat Moss".
On the Weird Route, the moss cannot be consumed, and the Ferris wheel ride along with its accompanying "Eat Moss" option do not occur.
In Chapter 3 during TV Time, Kris can find "MOSS" on the Island Board, where it is in a cave northeast of the Kodakoda Shrine. If the moss room's east wall has not been bombed yet, approaching it causes Tenna to comment on the cracked wall.[12]
Before checking the moss, a photo of it can be taken with the camera for 10 POINTs.
Interacting with the moss causes HERO_SWORD to eat it, which fully heals Kris's HP.[13] This gets listed a Secret Bonus in the Round 2 Evaluation as "ATE MOSS!"
The ensuing dialogue varies depending on if the bomb room's bombs were detonated by HERO_AXE:
- If the wall has not been bombed yet, both Susie and Ralsei comment, "That's what it means."
- If the wall has been bombed, Susie praises Kris's attention to detail.[14]
In Chapter 4, Kris can discover the "sacred moss" in the 2nd Sanctuary at the end of a long hallway found at the far right of the room that comes before Wicabel's encounter. Kris can choose to consume the moss, which they do "with gusto".
If moss was consumed in the previous Chapters and was eaten with Susie, Kris's title changes to "Moss Most".[1][9][13][15][11]
If moss was consumed in all previous Chapters and with Susie, a moss trophy appears in Kris's room in Ralsei's castle, which can be eaten.
After Asgore kicks Kris and Susie out of the Dark World, they return via the back door of the Flower King. There, they are locked inside of a jail cell in Flower Castle by Flowery. Moss grows in the corner of the cell and gets consumed by Susie, and optionally Kris. However, Flowery predicted this, as after "perpetuating the cycle of life",[16] he summons more moss on the floor. If moss was consumed in every Chapter, and in Chapter 2 with Susie, Kris's title changes to "Last Moss".[1][9][13][15][17]
During the fight with Flowery, Kris will use the Justice ACT, and the Moss is presented as Evidence that can be used against Flowery. It is the correct option for the trial, representing Flowery placing Kris and Susie and jail for no legitimate reason. Flowery will then counter by using the Petal Feather as evidence for the party stealing the Petal Feather itself. Leading to Ralsei taking the blame, and then Ralsei is forcefully taken out of the fight.
Chapter 5 is the only Chapter where interacting with moss is mandatory.
Card Castle's prison section is entirely inspired by Illusion of Gaia. The line "Even the moss drinks water" is a reference to a mistranslation in the English version of the Japanese RPG, where the original line, "Suck moss if you want water", was mistranslated as "Even moss drinks water".[18] In the 6th Anniversary Stream, Toby Fox states that Deltarune "really expanded on the moss", which is what he "wanted to see".[19]
During the development of Chapter 2 of Deltarune, Fred Wood has stated his favorite glitch involves consuming the moss when Susie is in the party. Upon inspecting the dumpster itself, he implies that it caused the ThornRing to be obtainable. Fred comments that the glitch took a long time to be patched, and that "Moss is powerful".[20]
In the UNDERTALE 6th Anniversary Stream, Berdly's dialogue in the library is altered from the typical dialogue about the overdue How to Draw Dragons book to lauding his gaming accomplishment of a "Smashing Fighters moss-percent speedrun". He claims Kris's faster record is achieved via cheating, which he intends to prove in a forty-minute documentary he is working on.[21]
- 1 2 3 gml_GlobalScript_scr_text script, lines 1509–1513, Chapter 1
- ↑
So, Kris, what did you find...!?
— Ralsei, Chapter 1
...
... what's all that green stuff around your mouth?
... 2 minutes in jail and you've already resorted to eating moss. - ↑
What the hell? Your prison cell gets MOSS!?
— Susie, if moss was eaten, Chapter 1
(Didn't even save any for me...) - ↑
Why the hell does YOUR room get moss!?
— Susie, decorative moss, Chapter 2 - ↑
Damn, there's everything in here!
— Susie reacting to her fridge, Chapter 2
Pinecones, chalk, moss, jars of salsa, - ↑
Your title was upgraded to [Moss Finder]
— After finding the moss in Cyber City, Chapter 2 - ↑
(Why do they look so pleased?)
— Noelle, moss inspecting, Chapter 2 - ↑
(I guess marimos and stuff are kind of cute...?)
— Noelle, 2nd inspection, Chapter 2 - 1 2 3 gml_Object_obj_darkcontroller_Draw_0 script, lines 351–352, Chapter 2
- ↑
Heck yeah, I didn't know there was moss here!
— Susie, upon inspecting moss, Chapter 2
It's totally uneaten, too... - 1 2 gml_Object_obj_darkcontroller_Draw_0 script, lines 333–343, Chapter 4
- ↑
A cracked wall! What could it mean!?
— Tenna, Chapter 3 - 1 2 3 gml_Object_obj_b2bombfun2_Step_0 script, lines 59–60, Chapter 3
- ↑
Damn. Good catch. THAT'S why Kris should be playing.
— Susie, Chapter 3 - 1 2 gml_Object_obj_dw_churchb_windows_Step_0 script, lines 100–102, Chapter 4
- ↑
(Even moss drinks water. Perpetuate the cycle of life?)
— Narration, Chapter 5 - ↑ gml_Object_obj_darkcontroller_Draw_0 script, lines 565–575, Chapter 5
- ↑ Legends of Localization Book 3: UNDERTALE, page 264, ISBN 9781945908019
- ↑ UNDERTALE 6th Anniversary So We Play DELTARUNE Chapter 1 For Some Reason - LIVE! (02:16:37) on YouTube
- ↑
My favorite glitch during development was that if you ate moss with susie next to the dumpster, and then talked to the dumpster, you'd get a powerful item you weren't otherwise supposed to be able to get. It took us a surprisingly long time to figure out why. Moss is powerful.
— INTERVIEW: CHAPTER 2 DEVELOPMENT TEAM (Fred Wood, October 31, 2023.) toby.fangamer.com. - ↑ UNDERTALE 6th Anniversary So We Play DELTARUNE Chapter 1 For Some Reason - LIVE! (03:21:43) on YouTube